Erroneous Sands
by EternalHime
Summary: When the King and Queen of Mars are mysteriously murdered the Princess and her servent are forced to flee the Palace. With the help of two refugee's they must make it to the Moon Kingdom and warn the Queen, but is the servant all that she appears?
1. The Beginning Invasion

I do not own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing.

**Erroneous Sands**

**Chapter One : The Beginning Invasion**

The ground shook with horrible tremors, each one coursing up their legs like spasms, rattling their bones and causing them to fall to the ground, unable to keep balance. Once on the ground they were lucky if they weren't immediately crushed by mass amounts of rubble and concrete. Sounds of dishes breaking and glass smashing resounded throughout the entire palace as screams of terror harmonized with the horrifying tunes. The music made was glorious to the invaders; who kept playing the instruments louder and louder until the pitch was even more satisfying. Yet it never seemed to be perfect.

The reason they had come was unknown, Jupiter had always been a tranquil place, at ease with all other planets and societies. After all, they were part of the Silver Alliance. But maybe that was the reason they were attacked: They held too much power. It was the largest planet in the solar system, part of the Silver Alliance, and on top of that the king was one of the strongest warriors in the entire galaxy and his wife by far one of the strongest women. Jupiter was almost perfect, as all of the other planets in the Silver Alliance were. And that was what the problem was.

First they appeared in the southern hemisphere of the planet, creating a huge hurricane of never ending red wind, destroying many homes and lives. Though with Jupiter being so big, it hardly made a dent in the population size. Still that didn't ease the king's fears, however, his advisor told him not to worry and the king trusted his advisor with his life, so worry much he did not. The next indication of invasion was when the two Boundary Rocks were destroyed. The Boundary Rocks were large spherical rocks that created a dome shield around the entire Silver Alliance, keeping all enemies out. Until this one struck. The first Boundary Rock, the one that floated between the vast space of Pluto and Mercury, was completely disintegrated. The Boundary Rock between Jupiter and Mars however, was not. Bits of rock cluttered the space between them which caused communication problems with the other planets; the air around the planet was full of energy from the Boundary Rock that it was impossible to reach the different planets for help. And the new wall of rocks between Mars and Jupiter didn't make it any better.

So the King called upon all of his men able and willing to fight for their planet and headed out to meet the enemy head on, leaving his wife and some of the other women and men warriors to defend the women, children and cowardly men. The Queen had not seen her husband for what seemed like eons but which had only been hours. She had a strong feeling that he was still alive for she could feel his aura but she wondered how he was fairing and if he had made the transaction, sent their daughter to a different planet so that she could live her life to its fullest and hopefully someday fulfill her destiny. The Queen continued to try to yell over all of the sounds and voices, urging people to go to the emergency pods where they could launch into space flee the crumbling planet.

She grasped the edge of the table as another horrible quake shook her body weary. She couldn't understand how this could have possibly happened. An explosion burst through a nearby wall and sent her careening to the floor, her bow sliding inches from her grasp. A soft groan escaped the Queens lips as her palms and face met with the cold, unforgiving palace floors. Her eyes began to droop and everything around her began to fuzz at the edges, shapes became distorted as her brain kept sending her the same message: Sleep…sleep…

The message was cut short as she was yanked up from the ground by a strong arm, her wrist and waist caught in an iron grip as her cheek was slapped lightly. Her vision cleared and her husband was staring down at her, worried. His face was dirty and streams of blood cascaded down from where his long auburn hair began. No longer held back by its usual clasp, his hair stuck to him, matted with blood and sweat. His wife never thought he looked more beautiful. This was his element; this was what made him what he was today. This was what made him a King. She was happy he wasn't too hurt.

"Don't fall out on me now," he was whispering to her, holding her close and trying to keep her steady as another tremor shook the already crumbling palace. She couldn't possibly understand how he was still standing, for the ground shook so hard. He wiped the top of her head where she was sure she felt blood and continued to hold her up as the ground shook again. The tremors were becoming more and more often, the frequency beginning to disturb the royalty, for it could only mean that their efforts so far were futile.

"It's no use," she whispered softly, her hand coming up to stroke his cheek, where a spike of black symbolized his stature of royal blood. "We've done all we can." Usually this was not something that would ever have been uttered from her lips. But they were losing men fast and they needed to preserve all of the lives that they could. The only thing to do now was to put everyone in pods and send them to other planets to live. There was nothing more that they could do to help their people.

Her husband glared down at her angrily, his amber eyes dancing with a fiery passion Strands of his wavy hair tickled her cheeks and he bent over her, and all she wanted for her last few moments alive was to be held in his arms. "Don't say that!" he growled as another quake shook the palace. Lifting her up bridal style, with ease, he rushed her out of the palace after grabbing her bow. It wasn't safe inside for the ceiling could collapse at any moment. "We can still win, we're still alive. If we could just get all of the people to the pods…"

She sighed. He could be so stubborn in times of war. She idly, and strangely, wondered if that was a trait that would be passed on to their daughter. She had been born not long ago, a few months before their current condition. The Queen wondered if her husband had made the deal. "The transaction?" she asked. He nodded slowly as he set her down on her feet and handed her the bow.

"All went well, they agreed to the plan. Our successors and daughter will hide there until the illusion begins to fade, they then will return to rebuild."

At the word successors the Queen cringed. Why did they have to hide their daughter's identity? Couldn't they hide her and then have she be told of who she truly was? She stared at him sadly. "But…" tears began to slide down her creamy cheeks. "But our daughter…" The King took his tanned hand and brushed to tears from her gorgeous face. He shut his eyes to try and refrain from letting his emotions show.

Gripping her arms tight he said, "It's all that can be done, love. Now, we cannot betray our people, come, we must fight."

Gulping down her welled up tears and sighing a sigh of defeat she nodded and fumbled to grab and arrow from her back, the quiver positioned and ready. "Let's go."

He looked at her warily. Pushing her bangs from her vision he looked straight into the depths of her emerald eyes and paused, hand resting on her cheek. With a wavering voice he spoke. "Will you be alright?" Slowly but surely she nodded. And that was enough of an answer for him. Giving her a peck on the lips he drew his already black bloodstained sword and headed towards the battle field. As her husband was leaving the Queen panicked and grabbed his arm. She looked into his eyes and her lip began to quiver. This was the last time she'd ever see him, the last time she would stare into his vibrant amber eyes, feel his toned, tanned skin, hear his deep but loving voice… it was all too much. Without as much as a word spoken he understood. Putting his sword back in its sheath he grasped her soft cheeks within his palms and placed a soul searing kiss onto her waiting lips. She could taste the copper taste of blood within his mouth but it hardly bothered her. This was the last kiss they would share alive and she knew it, as did he. Reluctantly they ever so slowly pulled away.

"I'll see you in the after life, love," she mumbled onto his lips. He didn't respond and she didn't expect him to. Abruptly he pulled apart from her, turned his back and promptly ran away towards the battle field. It was something she expected so the Queen thought nothing of it. It was just him and his ego. She knew that he was crying. Giving a final sigh she ran in the opposite direction as her love, yet still towards the battlefield.

Maybe it was because it was her last day alive but as she was running the Queen began to wonder about what her daughter's life would be like. Strangely enough, she wondered if her daughter would be more useful with a sword, like her father, or a bow and arrow, like herself. So many things she wanted to teach her, say to her… swallowing down more tears the Queen knocked an arrow and aimed for the heart of the biggest demon she could see. She lowered her bow to her side as she quickly looked behind her. Tears welled up once more as she began hoping that her husband could fight with her side by side. But she knew the pain would be too much for the both of them if they saw the other fall to their almost certain death.

"Well," she said to herself, bringing her arrow up once more and aiming. "Goodbye, fair world," focusing her eyes she pulled back, her target standing high above everything else, "goodbye dear daughter," and launched her arrow.

> > > > > > >

Ok! So that's the beginning (of course, what else would it be). Sorry for the shortness, the chapterswill be longer later on andI promise that the title will makes sense though it might be way, way later on in the story. I hope you like itso far and feel free to drop a review of course they're always wanted. Constructive criticism is welcome as well.

EternalHime


	2. Simply Haunting

I do not own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing.

**Erroneous Sands**

**Chapter Two : Simply Haunting**

Rei awoke with a start, her eyes wide and darting about, violet globes trying to adjust to the darkness of the room. Blinking repeatedly she slowly sat up and looked around, still trying to remember exactly where she was. Giving her head a light slap she realized that she was in the only place she would be; her room. The dream she'd had was too real for her to completely forget, the emotions of the characters within were heart jerking and the way those people screamed seemed all too real… however it was already beginning to slip away. Putting a hand to her forehead she quickly pulled it away and grimaced at the salty liquid that stuck there. Sweat. How grotesque. Just as she had swung her legs over the side of her bed she heard a slight whimper to her right. She looked in the direction of the barely uttered sound where none other than her first and only friend lay sleeping, though sleeping is hardly what you would call it. There she lay tossing and turning in her bed, the occasional whimper uttered from her lips and the beaded sweat on her forehead was much more than Rei figured was on her own.

The young Princess of Mars picked up the bottom of her silky nightgown, hopped off of her high bed and tiptoed over to the small cot in the corner. This was hardly strange for her, it happened at least once a week and she seriously contemplated asking the girl what went on in her dream. However she knew that when her friend wanted to talk about it she would. Squeezing her eyes shut she placed a tentative hand on the girl's drenched forehead and concentrated. This was a power she had only recently, and accidentally, discovered. It was the first night that her friend had had the strange and haunting dreams. Rei had been worried about the girl but she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before so she found it best not to wake her. Instead she simply placed her hand her friend's forehead and willed her to stop struggling. And it worked. But what she hadn't expected the first time was the major headache that came as the aftermath of her actions. This time she was prepared.

When she finished, the brunette on the bed before her seemed to go limp as an imaginary weight was lifted off of her shoulders and the nightmare left her minds eye. Rei sighed as the headache hit her full on. With a wobbly step she tried to walk to the bathroom that was conjoined with her room. However this time the headache was much stronger than it usually was and Rei's body felt so weary that she fell to the ground, exhausted. Grabbing her head with anguished hands she tried to remove the headache from her own head, an action that she knew all too well was futile.

But in doing so images came to her. There was a big burly man, she couldn't see his face well, and there was a woman with long, wavy, golden hair that reached the small of her back. They were smiling happily with a child. The images then turned to a creature so disgusting Rei felt bile rise in the back of her throat. A black creature with wet, tar-like skin growled at her. Pungent, jagged teeth expanded numerously around its top and bottom jaw as it let out an ear splitting scream that would strike even the most jaded of souls. Strings of dark saliva stuck to its teeth as it opened its mouth wide and screamed again, the pitch just as horrifying as the last. Long fingers with caustic talons gripped a gorgeously jeweled sword, but which was encrusted with sordid, crimson blood. Large, twisted and glorious horns rose from head and its eyes glowed a repugnant red as they turned to meet Rei's mind eyes. It stared at her and spoke in an odd, yet entrancing, language. Its voice was deep and soothing, which was very odd for its grotesque manifestation.

"_Rin al corr tale me,"_ it said.The hisssent shivers up and down her spine as she found that her eyes were locked with its own. She couldn't turn away and it had begun to walk towards her. Rei knew for certain that this was no ordinary vision. This monster was real, it was hardly _just _a vision. And if it caught her inside of her minds eye she would never be able to return to the real world. In other words she would basically be a vegetable for the rest of her life until the creature decided to use her for its own purposes. It was odd, but very frightening how Rei found that she knew exactly what the creature was saying to her. She began trying to leave her minds eye but the creatures hold was too tight. She felt her body begin to relax as the creature screamed the exact words it had said before. Rei knew this wasn't the end, she was positive that somehow she would be out of this jam. And soon enough her body began to pull out, the creatures talon mere inches from her face.

"Wake UP!" the raven haired girl was literally slapped out of her visions by a cold hand. Giving a small utterance of her disproval she grabbed the side of her face where the harsh action had occurred and glared at the girl above her.

"Great Ares, Mako-chan, way to rip the skin right off of my cheek!" she growled as the brunette looked down at her sheepishly, placing a hand behind her head.

"Sorry Rei-san it's just that your eyes were so dark and you were collapsed on the ground. I kept calling your name but you wouldn't get up, I was so worried I took to the last resort—"

"Yeah, of trying to bitch-slap me…" Rei cut her off as she stood up with the help of her friend. Giving her body a good stretch she realized that her horrific headache was completely gone. Placing a hand to her now reddened cheek she turned her furious violet eyes to the taller girl who had a deeply apologetic look in her frightened emerald eyes.

"Rei-san, I didn't mean it like that! I was just so worried about you!"

Rei dropped her hands to her sides and looked at Makoto with even eyes. Why was the girl so perky and worried? Rei knew she was just playing with her. She had never been so apologetic in her entire life. Giving Makoto a slight shove she glared at her again. "Drop the act oh perky one. I'm not buying it," she said as she began to walk to her bathroom to wash the grime from her face and redo her now jacked up pony tail.

"Mmkay," Makoto said as she shrugged and hopped back into her bed and pulled the covers over her head. "Just making sure you knew I was sorry," she mumbled. "G'night."

Rei cupped her hands and captured the crystal clear water that slowly poured from her silver faucet. Flinging the water onto her face she gave a relaxed sigh. Walking over to Makoto she pulled the covers back and flicked tiny water droplets onto the sleeping girls face.

"Hey!" Makoto cried as she sat straight up and glared at her friend, her emerald eyes dancing with a fire-like passion which Rei's glare returned with just as much fervor. "What'd you do that for? I was almost asleep," she frowned. Most of the time she fell asleep at the drop of a hat but recently it had oddly taken her several minutes, even hours, to fall asleep. Instead of giving an answer Rei abruptly tore all of the covers off of Makoto's bed and threw them to the ground.

She smirked as Makoto gaped at her. "Get up, the sun's rising," was all she said as she walked over to the curtains that shrouded her room in darkness and pulled them back to reveal the pink hue that cased the horizon. The comforting glow immediately put Makoto's nerves at ease. She was rarely awake for the sunrise but whenever she was the sight made her strangely comforted. The sunrise, the sunset, and Rei were the only constants in her life and they made her perpetually jovial.

Giving a blissful sigh she tumbled out of her bed and walked to Rei's glass doors which opened to reveal a long white porch. Taking a step onto the warm wood, imported from Earth, she smiled and inhaled the sweet smell of Casablanca lilies, the only flowers, and almost vegetation, that grew on Mars. Leaning over the railing she closed her eyes and grinned as a soft breeze shifted through her disheveled hair. For some reason this land always felt so… foreign to her. Every Martian was gorgeous with silky, dark hair that could only resemble midnight. Makoto did not look this way. Her wavy auburn hair was unnatural as well as her emerald green eyes.

"Hey Mako-chan, stop daydreaming and get dressed." Rei poked her head around the door to her balcony and frowned and her friend's forlorn expression. She realized that whenever Makoto would stare off into space her eyes would go blank and her eye brows would crease in sadness. Frowning, the princess took a step onto her porch and placed a hand on Makoto's shoulder, who was immediately roused from her gloomy appearance. "Is everything ok?"

Makoto blinked and turned to Rei with perplexed eyes. "Of course, why wouldn't it be?" Of course there were many reasons why she wouldn't be ok, but voicing them hardly plagued her thoughts.

Hiding her worry Rei merely rolled her eyes and proceeded into her bedroom where she headed straight to her closet. Placing a fingernail in her mouth she shifted through the many dresses that cluttered her large clothing storage. She had dresses of every color, though most were either a ruby red or a gorgeous, dark purple. Fingering through a few she eventually sighed and turned to Makoto who now stood behind her. "Which dress should I wear today?"

Placing one hand on her hip and one on her chin thoughtfully, Makoto stared at the closet wonderingly before she walked back over to her own bed. "Well," she said, "Today's the conference with the royalty of Mercury, right? You and the princess are supposed to have tea while your parents discuss what to do about the destroyed boundary rocks. I'd suggest something simple yet elegant." Rummaging within her trunk for her usual outfit, Makoto looked over her shoulder and expressed her opinion. "What about that one red dress with the V neckline surrounded by those little beads," she made gestures for emphases around her neck, "The one you wore on your first trip to the Moon."

Turning to her closet Rei pulled out said dress. Holding it out, she tilted her head to the side and eventually brought it up to her body. Gripping the wispy fabric lightly in her fingers she walked over to her mirror and smiled. "Sounds good enough for me," she shrugged as she walked back over to her closet after throwing the dress onto her bed. Kneeling down she rummaged through her some hundred pairs of shoes only to come out with a simple pair of red pumps, her favorite. She smirked as she stood and tossed her shoes beside her dress. "Now what jewelry should I wear?"

Sighing, Makoto pulled her clothing out of her trunk and tossed them onto her bed before giving Rei a firm look. "Why are you asking me? You know perfectly well what you're going to wear. And don't be so rough with your clothes, those things are expensive." She began to remove her night clothes as Rei giggled.

"Yes, and I always know exactly what you are going to say. You always pick whatever's perfect and proper for the occasion, never the daring blood red dress with the excruciatingly low neck line and the slit up to the thigh. And never the shimmering green dress that pools at the feet yet completely reveals the entire back. Or even the midnight blue dress that enhances the breasts and hugs your body tight to show off every curve of a gorgeous woman's body. Oh no, you say 'that red one you wore on your first trip to the moon with the little thingies around the neck."

Rei ducked as one of her own shoes was chucked at her. Straightening up she turned and glared. Of course Makoto would never have done something like that in front of any other person on the planet for she knew she would be banned almost instantaneously. However when the two were just alone all stature was set aside and they were both simply fifteen year old best friends. But throwing shoes went a little far. Throwing expensive shoes almost crossed the line. Pointing a finger at her best friend Rei frowned. "Watch it buddy," she said menacingly.

Makoto looked at her innocently. "But Princess Rei, whatever have I done wrong?" she gave two short blinks for emphasis only to break her serious gaze as the shoe was chucked right back at her. Giggling she placed the item back on the bed next to its twin and returned to clothing herself. "Anyway, those dresses are hardly proper for a simple tea sitting with Princess Mercury. And you know I only suggest dresses I can pull off myself."

Rei rolled her eyes and grunted. She'd never admit it but a part of her was jealous of Makoto's body. The slightly younger girl had serious curves and long legs, for she was a few inches taller than the Martian princess. It's not that Rei wasn't satisfied with her own curves, oh no she loved her body. However it would always be nice to have a little more, you know, fill out some more obvious places. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she walked over to her bed and removed her outfit for the morning off of its hanger. Shrugging on her dress Rei pulled her long raven locks over her shoulder and took large, decorative earrings from a small jewelry box on her nightstand.

However as Rei closed her jewelry box everything in her room seemed to shift and an abrupt dizziness erupted within her head. Gripping her night stand she shut her eyes tightly and grasped her head in pain. Taking in a shaky breath, Rei looked out to the sunrise and up and the vast space above her very own desert planet, her home. Her eyebrows lifted to reveal an agonizing look of sadness as tears bubbled within her throat. Her vision of the grotesque creature was shoved back into her head as its haunting yet spellbinding words echoed within her mind.

_Your reign shall fall._

Whew, well there's another chapter out! And thank you so much to my two and only reviewers. Your kind words make me happy

**Elapse: **Haha, yes, fear not my friend! This story is mostly centered on Rei. Usagi shows up but her role is far less important than the Princess of Mars. Thank you so much for your review!

**Deaths.Bloody.Rose: **Wow, your praise completely made my day! I _am_ proud of this story . I also liked the scenes between the King and Queen XD I'm quite a sucker for cuteness. I feel honored that you took a break from your vacation to read my little work of art, it is hardly worth all of your comments but I welcome them, they make me happy. And oh dear me, you must have read me wrong. I'm hardly a major rabbit fan. I can't even read most of the stories out there about her, they're full of betrayal and her looks are changed around quite a bit! But I don't hate Usagi, I like all characters from Sailor Moon. And as I told Elapse, you have nothing to worry about, this is a Rei centered story. However, about the pairings, I think I've already decided who's with whom. But I'm not going to tell you who because that would ruin it all . But here's a hint: I wouldn't be so worried about it if I were you. You could just persuade me into a certain pairing… hehehe. Until next time!

EternalHime


	3. Pretty Lady

I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing.

**Erroneous Sands**

**Chapter Three : Pretty Lady**

Rei gave a big fake smile as she walked down the extensive majestic stairs that lead from the second level of the palace to the polished marble floor where her mother, father, and the royalty of Mercury stood. Makoto, as usual, was four steps behind her wearing a piece of lengthy red cloth over her head that almost reached her hips, as well as a piece of lighter cloth to cover her mouth. Long layered skirts hung on her hips and a shirt that hugged her body yet was loose around her arms, belling to hide her hands, adorned her top. She wore no shoes and no jewelry. This was the uniform of the higher servants within the Martian palace. No part of their body was to be shown besides their necks, which bore no jewelry symbolizing their stature of wealth, their feet, which bore no shoes, also symbolizing how much money they had, and their eyes.

Rei reached the ground and curtsied, Makoto mimicking her motions four steps behind her. However as Rei stood, her best friend stayed in her curtsied position. "How nice it is to see you again, I hope your stay is a pleasant one," she spoke, her fake smile returning.

The Princess of Mercury curtsied as she gave Rei a smile that was just as bogus as her own. "I am much obliged," she returned. Rei's smile this time (however some may call it a smirk) was real as Ami expressed her thanks. The girls' tone was so light and kind that all Rei could do was smile. However, just as Rei was to suggest that Ami follow her to the porch in the back for tea, her mother interrupted her.

"Rei, dear," she said, her arm hooked around Rei's fathers arm, "why don't you tell Princess Ami the celebration we're having tonight?" She smiled as Rei stared back at her mother with blank eyes.

Celebration, what celebration? She gave a quick glance back at Makoto who, by the slight motion of her shoulders barely moving, Rei could tell, shrugged. Turning to the King and Queen of Mercury she gave a shaky smile and clasped her hands in front of her dress. "Oh… yes of course. The celebration tonight, I was never good at explaining such gatherings as you were mother. Why don't you explain?" Her mother merely laughed and shook her head.

"Princess Ami, I wanted Rei to tell you herself but it seems that she has already forgotten." At her mothers slight giggle the Mercurian royalty chuckled along. "Tonight is an occasion I am sure that you'll want to attend to. Sir Arlot is gracing us with his company as well as signing books."

The Princess of Mercury gasped but quickly remembered her stature and covered her mouth. Glancing over to Rei she gave her a look that said 'how could you have possibly forgotten this?' Rei gave her a blank look back. Turning her head she returned the Queen of Mars' smile and said, "I would… I would be honored to attend!"

Rei rolled her eyes. This was an occasion for Ami, not for herself. Sir Arlot was a famous writer who's main study was the abrupt explosion of the two boundary rocks. He also wrote small novels in which Ami had found fairly nice to read. Giving a rude sigh she walked over to the now giddy Princess of Mercury and looped her arm through hers. "Well, now that that's out, Ami and I will be on our way to our tea. Thank you mother, father, King, Queen, we'll see you all tonight." With that the two of them walked off, Makoto still four steps behind.

……………………………….

"And when had you planned on telling me this?" Ami asked as soon as they sat down. The porch was lit up with the morning's luminosity, patches seeping through the small beams that held the porch together. The faint, yet sweet, smell of Casablanca's was evident as Rei took her seat and sighed.

"Look Ami, you know that what Sir Arlot does is not my kind of thing. I completely forgot about it. But hey, I'll look on the bright side, maybe there'll be some cute boys there," she grinned as Ami gave her a look of disbelief. Laughing out loud she gave Ami a 'just kidding' look. Her friend just huffed and took a sip of her tea.

Shaking off her friends' comment Ami looked up to Makoto, who was standing against the porch wall, arms crossed and eyes barely open yet oddly enough just as alert as any of the guards she had seen on her way in. The girl was a complete mystery to her. She'd met her a couple of times and saw the looks that she and Rei shared which could only mean that Rei didn't exactly treat her like a servant. The two were closer than that, but then, since there was no one watching, why did Rei not offer her tea?

"Makoto-san," she began. The servant's eyes turned slowly towards hers. Ami almost jumped. Green? Green eyes? Since when had any person on Mars had green eyes? Usually violet, blue occasionally and the eventual black or brown but green? Very unique… very different. "Would you like to join us for some tea?" The girl gave a bow and politely refused, crossing her arms again and looking out over the royalty's land, eyeing anyone who passed.

Ami gave a look to Rei who merely sipped her tea and acted as if nothing had happened. Makoto was lucky that she declined as the Queen of Mars walked out onto the porch. Turning to Makoto she said, "Oh, dear Makoto would you mind running to the market for a few? I'm afraid it's Kagura's day off and Marietta is visiting her sick father."

Makoto curtsied. You couldn't tell but she was smiling beneath her coverings. The Queen was too kind to be a Queen. She'd never heard any other royalty say, 'would you mind.' Staying in her curtsied position she replied, "Of course your highness."

"Fabulous, here's what I need you to get…" Handing Makoto a long list she smiled and walked away. But before completely walking out of sight she called, "We need it for tonight so if you could leave as soon as you could, that would be wonderful." Makoto smiled again. The Queen was just too kind. Turning to Rei and the Princess of Mercury she curtsied for them.

"It was an honor to be in your company, Princess Mercury, Princess Mars," and with that she stood and left.

Ami put a finger to her chin and tilted her head, watching Makoto's silhouette become smaller and smaller. "She's quite odd…" she commented.

Stirring her tea with her spoon, Rei let out an awkward laugh of a sort. "You don't know the half of it," she murmured.

………………………………..

Makoto sighed. At least the list was short, for the kitchen had most of what they needed. Patting the money pouch now attached to her waist she hopped the amount was going to be enough. The market wasn't too far away from the castle, but she'd have to walk fast if she wanted to get there, get the items on the list and then get back before the sun began to fall.

Looking at the bottom of the list she grinned. There, scribbled in the Queens handwriting, it said, 'and I added a bit more money for you to grab a small something to eat.' Next to it was a small smiley face. Since no one was around Makoto let out a long and heavy laugh. She knew why the Queen was so kind to her. She and her husband had revealed to her long ago that she had had no parents, no siblings, and no relatives at all still living. For that Makoto believe that the Queen thought that she had to be a sort of replacement mother for the girl. But why was what confused Makoto the most. She treated the other servants as if they were servants. Yet she treated her as a sort of daughter. Not outright, of course, but in small ways like this, by giving her a bit more money just so she could get some food.

It was nice to have the Queen treat her like a daughter (secretly of course) but Makoto had always wondered what her real mother was like… She'd realized long ago when she was a small child that she looked far different from any other person on Mars. But why was she so different?

Strange thoughts plagued her mind all the way to the market. Her feet were reddened from the sand and the hot sun above made beads of sweat develop on her forehead. By now the sun was right overhead and beginning to drop down towards the horizon again. Quickly Makoto shuffled through the market, grabbing the odds and ends on the list. Once everything had been bought she took the last few coins and bought herself a pear. She licked her lips just thinking about the juiciness of it. Just imagining the juice sliding down her arm as she takes another bite into its sweet flesh. Holding it up to the sun she smiled. Oh how she loved pears…

And then the pear was gone. Makoto gasped and stood up. A boy far younger than her ran to her left with the pear. He'd grabbed it right out of her hands! "Hey! Stop, thief! Somebody stop him!" she called, running after the boy. Bad move. Stopping she turned around and ran back to the bags of groceries she had bought only to find another boy picking them up and running in the opposite direction. Right now the groceries were far more important than a single pear. Picking up her skirts she ran in a very unladylike manner, shoving through people and yelling for the boy to stop. Reaching out, she grabbed the back of his shirt, slowing him down.

"Give me those back!" she cried as the older boy struggled in her grasp. The boy didn't respond in words but flung his arm behind her in means to hit her in the face. In the process of ducking Makoto let go of his shirt and the boy was off again. He ran around the corner of a small hut and Makoto followed only this time she hadn't expected to be hit on the forehead with a large stick. Groaning she fell to the ground in a heap of skirts and red. Now how the hell had that boy gotten a hold of a stick that big? Rolling over she groaned again. Putting a hand to her forehead she felt a small trickle of blood. Trying to push herself off of the ground Makoto found the task a lot harder than she though it would be.

Hearing a chuckle behind her Makoto almost jumped as a hand was placed in front of her. "Let me help you up," came a kind voice. Turning around Makoto tried to see who was helping her. But with the sun right behind him and Makoto's blurred vision the guy just seemed like a blob to her. Thinking nothing worse could happen she took his hand and, with a strength Makoto had not anticipated, was pulled to her feet.

"The groceries…" she mumbled, taking a step and almost falling as a wave of dizziness came upon her. The man beside her chuckled as he caught her beneath her breast.

"Fear not, they're right here." He pointed to a heap beside him and sure enough Makoto recognized them as the groceries she had bought earlier. Pulling herself from the mans grasp as stumbled over to the groceries and picked them up.

"Well I guess I'd better be off then… thank you for your help." Taking another shaky step forwards Makoto heard the man chuckle behind her again. The ground in front of her seemed to move and wave. It then began to tilt to the right as well as Makoto's body. This time, however, she was not caught by the guy behind her. Another man in front of her grabbed her shoulders and kept her steady.

"Sit." He simply said. And Makoto sat. She was beginning to be able to see what her two saviors looked like. He held something out in front of her and Makoto soon recognized it as her pear. "Eat." He said again. And Makoto ate. While she ate her first savior spoke again.

"I," he said, placing a wet cloth to Makoto's forehead, "am Quatre." Makoto wondered how this strange man had come up with a wet towel so quickly. But right now that was not of her concern. Who were these two men, and why were they helping her?

"Heero," her second savior said. The girl now realized that he didn't like to speak much. Quatre spoke again.

"This here is Tatsuki," he slightly shoved the small boy who had stolen her pear in front of her. "I believe he has something to say to you."

The small boy clasped his hands behind his back and stared ferociously at the ground. Digging his toes within the reddish sand he rocked back and forth. By his torn white shirt, which had gone red with the sand, and his tearing shorts Makoto could tell that this boy was homeless. Looking down at her half eaten pear she felt guilty. Swallowing the bite she had just taken Makoto smiled at the small boy. Touching his chin so that the little boy looked at her she held out the pear to him. He grabbed it and ran away. But not without calling a 'thank you, pretty lady' behind him.

Makoto blushed but realized now that the sun was getting closer and closer to the horizon. "Oh dear," she cried, stumbling and grabbing her bags. "I really do have to go. But I thank… you…" Makoto had turned and finally gotten a good look and what her two saviors really looked like. They were probably the two most handsome men she had ever seen. Blushing she looked down and stammered out her thanks. "Um, thank you for saving me." She curtsied and looked up to find them both bowing to her. Blushing even deeper she found that it was hard to look at them without almost drooling.

"Thank you for gracing us with your kindness," Heero said as Quatre kissed the top of her hand. The two smirked at the young girl. Her cheeks were so red Heero almost thought it was a sunburn.

"Y-yes… well… Goodbye then," she curtsied again and picked up her groceries, walking back towards the palace.

"Goodbye, pretty lady," Quatre said. He knew she heard him for her slight stumble. He grinned as he opened his hand and looked down. Inside of it was a small black object. "Did you place it on her?" he asked Heero once she disappeared over the dunes. It was funny how she knew nothing about them, yet they knew almost everything about her _and_ her best friend.

"Of course," came Heero's curt reply as he turned and began to walk away. Quatre looked down at a small beeping object in his hand. His eyes followed the red dot as it moved. Sighing he turned and followed his friend. "Now all we do is wait…" he mumbled to himself.

………………………….

Whew, okay then, here's chapter three! I finally got the G-boys in there. I'm pretty sure that the other Senshi will show up at some point, but I'm not so sure about the other G-boys. What do you guys think? Should I add them? Well I'm off then, and thank you for reading!

Eternalhime


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